How much better is the iPhone XS camera compared to the X?

I just got back from lunch at a Japanese restaurant with beautiful fish. Yes… beautiful fish. I enjoyed looking at my meal almost as much as I enjoyed eating it, and so I do what almost most people do now… take out the phone and start snapping. 🤳🏻 And I noticed my lunch buddy — who uses the iPhone X — doing the exact same thing… and we started to compare pictures on our screens. It got so interesting that I ran back to office to piece it together into another side-by-side photo comparison (check out the one I did yesterday).

Again, all these photos were not filtered or edited in any software. The left and top photos are those taken with the iPhone X; the ones on the right and below are taken with the iPhone XS Max (which has the same lens as the new iPhone XS). YOu can also click on the photos to see them in full resolution. 

ABOVE: The most noticeable difference is in the lemon. The one taken with the X has blown out highlights and lacks detail.

ABOVE: You don’t need to zoom in to tell that the uni in the iPhone XS Max photo has more detail and depth. The tamago in the iPhone X photo is also leaning towards blown-out highlights.

ABOVE: These photos look almost identical… until you look further back. The white fish is the background is completely blown out in the X photo, while it retains clear markings and detail in the XS Max picture.

ABOVE: Here’s a closer look if you don’t know what I’m talking about.

ABOVE: Once again, these are pretty similar pictures. The differences are pretty subtle but as an avid photographer, they are important to me. Focus on the reflection of the spotlights on the glass case; in the iPhone X photo, there’s a lot more — you guess it — blow out. The light flare extends to a bigger radius than the ones in the XS Max photo; and look at the centre spotlight in the XS Max picture… there’s even a distinct separation of three spots rather than a combination of one larger one.

Since I got my hands on the new iPhone XS Max, a lot of friends and even random strangers have been coming up to me asking if the camera is a lot better, and whether they should upgrade their X. The answer is yes. It’s definitely an improved camera system and it does take better photos than the iPhone X. Whether you should upgrade from your current device… I’d say, do it if your telco plan is up and there’s no early upgrade device penalty fee (and that’s a story for another day).

[Photos taken at Mikuni. We ordered the Miyazaki Wagyu Beef, Mikuni Chirashi, and Aburi Chirashi. Very niiiiiice….😋]